Children in the attic
by WolfspearWolflover
Summary: Sequel to "Ghost story turned Love story"; Mai is back at SPR and doing jobs with the others again. Officially, she and Naru are a couple, but Naru seems distant, and even though he was the one to make the first move, Mai feels that he doesn't truly love her. Will a dangerous and long case get him to open up, or will it make him even more distant? Rated M for disturbing content
1. Chapter 1

_**Wassup everyone!**_

_**I decided I'd start writing a sequel as well since I noticed that a lot of people have been asking for one ever since my last one ended.**_

_**It probably will be even worse than the last one, but meh, gives me something to do and gives you guys something to read.**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt**_

…

_**Mai's POV**_

Once again, here I am in the SPR building, and it's as quiet as ever. Even since I got back here it's been even quieter than before. Absolutely boring. Naru, that stupid narcissist, dosen't help my wanting to leave again either. Even though he was the one to kiss me after getting overly jealous, he's been acting like it never happened!

Whenever I mention it he avoids it too. It's honestly breaking my heart. If I knew he was going to act like this again I wouldn't have nursed my feelings. I should just move on. The problem is, I can't.

He took my first kiss for God's sake!

After years of trying to hold back my feelings and finding a new, permanent love, he goes and does that! Ugh! That idiot pisses me off!

"Mai! Tea!"

Grumbling I warmed up the tea pot in the kitchen, tapping my fingers against the counter, waiting for the whistle. I hear Lin and a couple other voices in the lobby and assume it's the others. But why would they be here on a normal day?

Curiously, I decide to make tea for all of them and pile biscuits on a tray. By the time I enter Naru's office they are already sitting and chatting, while Naru mumbles grumpily at his desk. I wordlessly put his cup down next to his computer and then I put the tray on the coffee table. I barely manage to put it down before Monk's hugging me.

"Mai it's been such a long time since I've seen you in this office!"

I can't help but giggle, "It feels like I haven't left," John looked like he wanted to speak up but didn't want to interrupt, so I addressed him, "What's on your mind John?"

John seemed a bit shocked at being noticed and hesitated a bit before answering, "Actually, Mai, could you do me a favour?"

I nodded, "Of course. What is it?"

John looked nervous at everyone's glances, even Naru had stopped typing on his computer, "Well, uh, actually it would be better if I just showed you, if Naru and Lin don't mind."

Naru stayed silent for a moment before answering, "Her days almost done anyway. Go ahead Mai," He then went back to his computer.

I huffed slightly, disappointed in his willingness for me to just leave, but I decided it would be better not to not complain and take this opportunity to leave, "Alright… Just let me get my stuff John and we can meet at the front."

John nodded and immediately stood up, leaving the room, as if he was being chased. I went to the kitchen to grab my bag and heard some curious and eager chatter from Ayako and Monk.

_I wonder why John was so nervous asking me to do him a favour…_

I joined John at the entrance and we both waved at Lin, who didn't respond or seem to even notice, before existing to the street. I turned to John, unable to hold my curiosity back any longer, "So John, what is this favour?"

John seemed to be more relaxed, but instead of answering, he turned to me and calpped his hands together as if praying. He stayed silent for a few awkward moments before speaking, "I'm really sorry to be asking this Mai, but I need you to do some acting for me."

"…What kind of acting…?"

He hesitated again but then spoke very quickly, "I need you to pretend you're a childhood friend a come to a group date with me."

I snorted, trying not to laugh, "A group date? Why?"

John seemed to relax more when I laughed, "Actually, it's for a possible client. He doesn't really believe in ghosts so he won't come here, but he's willing to talk about his… problems… over dinner."

"Oh? Mind me asking what you know already?"

John nodded, "Of course! Actually, the client is the son of a traditional hotel's manager. He told me that his parents and guests have been noticing moving furniture, gusts of cold air, and whispering. So far, no one has been attacked so that's why he isn't sold, but it's causing for them to lose customers, so he wants a professional's opinion," He noticed my doubtful look and immediately began to speak again before I could, "I would ask Naru but I already know he won't agree, so you were the first person I thought of. Do you mind?"

I chuckled shaking my head, "No, I don't, if I get free food out of it I'm willing to help."

John grinned, "Ah good! Thanks a lot, mate!"

I nodded, "Of course, you have a car, right?"

He nodded, "Yeah. I'll call you when I'm picking you up?"

"Great! It's a date!"

He blushed a bit and I couldn't help but giggle. Perhaps if I didn't like Naru so much, or if he wasn't in the picture, I would like John more. I pondered over this until he called later that night.

Yeah, he'd be a good candidate.

…_**.Later that night**_

John had picked me up around 6:30 and I was now sitting in the passenger seat of his small car. We were making small talk, to pass the time. We talked about what happened while I was gone, what kind of cases they had done and I talked about my college life. Now that I thought about it, I took back my earlier thought about him. He was too close to be a candidate – he was like a brother, more than a very good friend.

Soon we arrived at an old part of town, designed to be a more 'traditional' look to the neighbourhood. John led me inside where he greeted another female and a male. The male was handsome, but he was nothing like Naru. He was muscular and tall. He had brown eyes and dirty blonde hair with chiseled features.

The woman was also very beautiful. She had very short blonde hair, high cheek bones and green eyes. She was a little shorter than me but seemed more athletic and stronger.

The woman was the first one to speak, "Hello, my name is Ohara Uki, but feel free to just call me Uki. My brother, Fujino, is the one who John spoke to."

I spoke after that, stuttering a bit, "Ah, my name is Taniyama Mai, I'm an old friend of John's. It's nice to meet you both."

I shook hands with them both and then we sat down. John and Fujino ordered some drinks and food while I pulled out a notebook and Uki started talking, starting with a giggle, "With that notepad you really look like a professional!"

I smirked and chuckled a bit, "Well no, I'm not, but my boss is and he wasn't able to make it."

Fujino scoffed, taking a sip of his sake after it had arrived, "Right, 'professional ghost hunters'."

Uki glared at her brother then gave me an apologetic look, "Sorry about him, he still doubts it even though he's experienced the hauntings."

John and I exchanged a curious glance and I pushed further, "Hauntings? From what John said, it was nothing major."

Uki looked a bit hesitant and nervous, "Well… The reason I wanted to speak to you again was because it's escalated since John and my brother spoke."

I couldn't but let my curiosity grow, "Oh?"

Uki frowned a bit, "Well, to begin with, we thought it was the cleaners fault. It was little things, a misplaced chair or vase, nothing major. After a couple months our parents started to get annoyed with this and decided to set up cameras and things, which not only annoyed the customers but also this… spirit. Things like the water tap and lights began turning off and on randomly. One time the bathroom even flooded a bit, but, at the time, the water to that area of the house had been shut off. After a couple weeks of that, it escalated again. Guests started feeling suddenly cold and uncomfortable, and some say they hear whispers and screams… And then a couple days ago…"

Uki broke off and both John and I waited in anticipated for her to continue.

Uki took a deep and shaky breath, "A guest claims to have seen a ghost of a child laughing. They tried to talk to it but it ran off… They told my parents about this but my parents didn't think anything of it… But this morning… The guest was admitted to a hospital. Reports say they were beaten, and on the outside they look like they just have some bruises, but they have excessive internal bleeding, especially in the stomach and gut. Police don't have an explanation yet."

Both John and I had shocked expressions, and I finally managed to get the courage to speak, "How did they find this 'guest'?"

Uki paused, then spoke, "This is what freaked me out the most: police say this person had claimed he was being followed by a small child that wouldn't stop harassing him. He even said it was in his hospital room and wouldn't stop laughing, he freaked out and they had to give him sedatives."

John and I didn't know how to respond. They've had terrifying cases before involving children, but these children, or child, seemed violent. Just how were the others going to react to this?!

…

_**That was much darker than I planned…**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost hunt**_

…_**.**_

John and I were both silent, equally in shock. Of course, the number of cases involving children was countless. I remembered two clearly, the one where a ghost of a mother had been kidnapping the spirits of children, and another one where I had been possessed by a lonely mute boy.

Angry and hateful child spirits were nothing new in my world, but still, this one was odd. Why had a child attacked what seems to be an innocent man? And why is the child attached to a traditional hotel?

John was the first to speak up, "We will report this to Mai's boss first thing tomorrow morning."

I nodded and stood up, wanting to leave in order for the morning to come quicker, "And if he dosen't agree, we have some other contacts that will hopefully be willing to help," I smiled at Uki, who's worried and frightened expression seemed to soften a bit, "And if they aren't, John and I can at least try to help on our own."

Uki seemed to have a weight lifted off her chest, "Thank you so much miss Taniyama and mr Brown."

John and I said are goodbye's to Uki and her brother, who was staying silent, and we both prepared ourselves for tomorrow, and trying to convince Naru that this would be a good next case.

…_**..**_

I had gotten to work a little late, from doing some research on the hotel late into the night, but I was determined to get the others on this case. If it was just a noisy spirit I would have rathered not get in involved, but one person had already gotten hurt, and who knows how many more people will get attacked.

As I walked into the office building, with a nervous looking John, I ignored Lin's growl of disapproval and went straight to Naru's office. I slammed the door open, making everyone immediately becoming silent and John let out a squeak. To my surprise, even Osamu was there, but I didn't stop to greet him.

Naru was glaring at me for my rude entrance, but once again, I ignored it as a slammed down a pile of papers on his desk. My notes of last night and the little research I had done last night. I heard John squeak again and I turned my head slightly to see Lin was standing behind John, in the doorway.

I turned back to Naru when he spoke, his voice low and threatening, "I assume you have a good excuse for not only being late, but for the rude and rash entrance?"

I could tell without looking that John was giving me a look that said, 'don't push it,' but I did, "I do, in fact. A very important one. A case. I think you'll be quite interested in it."

At that, Monk, Ayako and Osamu snickered at the fact that _I_ thought _Naru_ would be interested in my case.

Luckily for me, after a long pause, he answered, "Oh? And what exactly is this case about?"

On the inside I was cheering, but on the outside I kept a poker face, "It's taking place at a traditional hotel. At first the owners thought it was just a poltergeist or lazy maid, but then guests started claiming to see the ghosts of children, and yesterday, a man that had been a guest there had been fatally injured, from inside out."

The room became silent again when I had mentioned the man being injured, and Naru had a thoughtful look on his face, "And why do you think I would be interested in this case? For all I know, it was just a foolish accident."

I ground my teeth, knowing he would answer like that, and it took all my courage to say, "I already promised that I would help them, and John is as well. If you don't want to help, then all I need is to borrow some equipment and someone to transport it all."

At this, Naru seemed to tense and clench his teeth, making me smirk in victory. Although he acted like he had no feelings for me, he hated the idea of me doing anything dangerous. After a few moments of silence and hi angrily muttering to himself, he stood up, "Fine. I'll accept it. Osamu, I want you to read over the files Mai has brought in. Lin, I want you and Monk to start packing the equipment. Girls, I want you to help them organize it, especially you Mai. Since you and John know the most about this case assume both of you will know about the equipment we will need."

Everyone started getting to work, and I winked at John, grinning. He sighed in relief and we both went to the cars to help out.

Once we had arrived, John spoke up, "I can't believe you did that Mai, you got some guts for backing him into a corner like that."

That made my grin widen and I let out a laugh, "Well I didn't lie, I just gave him a push in the right direction."

John frowned, "True, although do you think this is actually alright? If you really wanted him to accept you wouldn't have mentioned the man in critical condition…"

I nodded, "That's true, but if I hadn't and he found out from the owners, he would be even more pissed. This way, at least he knows. Not only that, but my little trick wouldn't have worked as well."

John didn't say anymore as we began packing the cars. Everyone climbed into their set cars, and naturally, I ended up in the same car as Naru, Lin and Osamu.

_This is going to be a long drive…_

Crossing my arms I kept my gaze outside the window. Luckily the drive itself wasn't that long. The hotel was just on the edge of the city so it would take max 45 mins to an hour. Still, it seemed like it was taking forever.

Eventually Osamu got bored and he started making silly jokes, every once in a while flirting with me, which made Naru let out a disapproving growl. Still, Osamu wouldn't stop, and it made Naru scowl even more when I giggled at his jokes and lame attempts to flirt.

This was going to be a long long case.


	3. Chapter 3

_**What up all?! It's been a while, hasn't it? Why don't we continue this little adventure? I believe I've left you in suspense long enough and myself as well.**_

It wasn't long before the hotel came into view; it stood out among the larger buildings on the edge of Tokyo. It was a traditional Japanese building, equipped with a traditional garden in front of it.

It was the first time I had seen such a beautiful garden! The colours of the rainbow covered the area, making me stop and gape in awe. Bright greens danced in the wind and koi fish jumped from pond to pond. I had nearly forgotten the reason that we were there, lost in my wonderful fantasies. Naru's voice snapped me back to reality when he practically screamed my name.

Letting out a small sigh of annoyance, I turned towards him, "Yes Naru?"

By the look on his face he could clearly hear the annoyance in my voice, only further pushing his buttons, "Since you already know the customers, go and talk to them. John will join you."

John nearly jumped out of his skin at hearing his name come from Naru's mouth, nearly hitting his head on one of the van doors. I immediately raised my right hand to my mouth, just barely managing to stifle a giggle. John's cheeks turned a light pink and he stuttered, moving quickly to the entrance while avoiding Naru's narrowed eyes.

"R-Right away! Come on Mai!"

I continued to keep my hand on my mouth, giggling softly as I followed after the blonde haired man. As we got close, we noticed that the building was split in two. The actual hotel part was traditional, though the entrance and another section to the right looked fairly modern. Two large wooden doors announced the entrance of the windows made up most of the door, along with the doors just behind them. The lobby was mostly empty save for a huge desk, some paintings and plants, and a few loveseats surrounding a coffee table, which was decorated with an assortment of magazines.

A certain painting caught my eye; it was hanging behind the massive, dark wood desk. It was a painting of a small family, a mother, father, and what looked like a female and male pair of twins. The background of the painting looked similar to the room we were currently standing in, but it had a fireplace as well. I couldn't help but stare at the faces of the people in the picture. The mother and her children looked so… sad, and when I looked into the eye of the father it sent shivers down my spine. Suddenly I heard a voice speak up, which cause both me and John to nearly jump out of our skins.

"Oh! I didn't realize you were here. Please forgive my not greeting you sooner."

It was the woman from the meeting yesterday. Her hair was pulled into a tight braid and she was wearing a pink and white kimono. John let out a breath of relief before bowing to her, "It was no problem, and we only got here a few moments ago."

Uki seemed to be visibly relieved, smiling sweetly at us, "I see, that's wonderful. I assume the rest of your team is still outside?" After we both nodded, she continued, clapping her hands together, "This is good timing then, we just finished preparing three rooms for you; one for your equipment, one for the boys and one for the ladies."

I couldn't help but stare back at the painting, my ears drowning out the two's conversation. Something about the painting made me nervous, but I couldn't figure out what it was. My eyes landed on the mans face again. That was it, what was making me nervous. The women almost had a comforting look to her, and the children were just children, but this man… Something was wrong, very wrong. Was it possible that he was the reason for this place being haunted?

My mind snapped back to the present when I heard John call my name, Uki's head was tilted slightly and her face was in the form of a frown. I blinked in confusion at the two, John looking equally confused, until Uki spoke, drawing both our attentions back to her. She was looking at the painting as well, her eyes almost looked… sad? Her voice only furthered that thought.

"This painting is quite strange, isn't it? It's a painting of my grandmothers, sister's family, who used to live here, before I was born. They were the ones to turn this place into a hotel. It's a lovely painting, which is why I have it here… but…"

But? I opened my mouth to ask, but she continued before I could.

"I couple weeks after this painting was made, tragedy struck the poor family. As the story goes, someone broke into the hotel and killed the family, mutilating the woman and her children and staging the man's suicide, I don't believe it though, nobody does, considering the murderer was never caught. Everyone believes that the man killed his children and wife, and in a moment of regret, killed himself. People doubted that too, though, considering how much they loved each other. They say that he was a family man and would do absolutely anything for his family but, he changed. Very suddenly. My grandmother says her sister would often go to their mothers house in tears, dragging her children behind her. She said that the man had gone insane. I think she was preparing for a divorce, or to even just leave him. He snapped after he learned of it and killed them in the most brutal way he could think of. My grandmother inherited this place since the children couldn't, and we've lived here ever since. This isn't the first time accidents involving children has happened. When this hotel allowed children, they would mysteriously disappear or get seriously ill, and it wasn't only the children. The mothers would get depressed and act strangely, and the fathers would act impulsively. One day, the father killed his wife and their child in the hotel, and that was the last time we allowed children, and often young couples."

John's mouth was gaping slightly, and I knew mine was as well. This was a lot to take in, without a doubt. The full story was much more tragic and serious than I had first thought, and also recent. Glancing back at the painting, I felt a pit form in my stomach. I've had bad feelings about jobs before, but this was… different. I hope night will come soon, I really need to talk to Gene.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost hunt.**_

I was once again jolted out of my train of thought when I heard a cough behind me and John. I could sense John tense up beside me and I instantly knew who had made the noise. Naru. It also didn't help my growing annoyance when Uki's eyes lit up like she had seen the answer to life, which apparently ended up being Naru. I felt my skin begin to prickle in increased annoyance, though Naru didn't seem to notice or care for that matter, and his displeased look when I turned around only encouraged that. There was something else behind it too, I wonder if he had an argument with someone? Probably Monk or Ayako, them being up to their old antics. John remained quiet, seeming to also sense Naru's annoyance, though Uki continued to not notice it, still mesmerized by his looks.

How old was she anyway? She must be way older than him, right? Actually, how old was Naru? I never really thought about it before or bothered to ask. I knew he was about my age, but still older than me. I'll have to remember to ask him later, when he wasn't so upset.

He must have been more annoyed than I thought, because he went to clear his throat again, glaring at John and I, speaking in a tense and cold tone, "Are the rooms ready? We need to start bringing equipment in."

Uki made a little 'eep' noise, jumping at his cold voice before quickly speaking, "Yes they are! Please follow me, I will show you where they are."

She quickly turned on her heals and headed down the hall, Naru following her and Lin and Monk following after him, carrying multiple cameras and a couple boxes. I remember one time when I tried to carry the same load, and I fell and broke another camera, adding a couple thousand to my debt. Needless to say, Naru hasn't let me carry anything since. John normally helps, though he had been with me. Yasuhara soon followed as well, though he didn't carry nearly as much as Monk and Lin. Ayako was trailing after him, dragging two suitcases behind her, probably her own belongings. John and I waited for a bit before following as well, wanting to inspect the place a bit as the others got settled.

The first thing we noticed is that it was hot. It was mid-summer and we were in a very old building so it wasn't much of a surprise, and John didn't seem to mind, but it seemed odd to me. I hoped there would be air conditioning in the rooms and kitchen at least, the kitchen being where I would probably spend the majority of my time, making snacks and tea. The three rooms weren't far from the entrance, only a few rooms away, which I assumed were staff only rooms. A particular room caught my attention and I peeked inside, intrigued.

A completely modern kitchen, fairly large with air conditioning. Thank God. Sighing in relief, I walked into the room and began inspecting where everything was. It looked like a normal office kitchen, like the one at SPR. A fridge, oven, dish washer, and the rest was counter space and cupboards. Notes were tapped to the bottom of the cupboards, at least the important ones. Managing to find where they kept the tea, tea pots and cups, I made a quick note to keep it in my memory. I didn't want to make a mess so I would ask Uki before I touched anything, it was only a matter of time until Naru was yelling for his tea and the others were wanting snacks. The shuffling of the SPR team seemed to slow down, so I assumed they were done moving in, which is what you might as well call it. Moments later I heard Naru barking commands to get everything set up, along with Ayako's and Monk's loud teasing. Monk suddenly shut up and I could only assume Yasu had gotten involved in said teasing.

Smiling softly in amusement at their antics, I suddenly heard a voice in the doorway to the kitchen. Looking over my shoulder I noticed Uki, and she seemed a little confused and shocked, she probably wasn't used to having loud guests. After a moment she spoke up again, moving into the room and beside me.

"Feel free to use anything in the kitchen, though I do ask that you re-supply what you take. Just so we don't run out."

Nodding I took that as an approval to get started and I pulled a tea bag out of the tea cupboard and a pot out of another one, speaking as I moved, "No worries, I'll try not to use too much. Our boss is kind of picky anyway."

Uki gave me a strange look as I poured some water into the pot and put it on the stove. I mentally slapped myself after realizing why she was confused, she hadn't been properly introduced to Naru yet! She would soon, as he would want to speak with her about her experiences, but still. Speaking quickly, I explained myself.

"Ah! I guess you haven't really met him yet. He's the one barking orders in that other room, the younger one with the black hair. His name is Shibuya, and yeah, he's as young as he looks. The older one is Lin and he's kind of like the co-owner. The really eccentric priestess is Ayako, and the other blonde guy is a monk and is named Takigawa. Oh yeah, and the guy who is about my age is Yasuhara, he's the one that is really… well… different. Kind of the opposite of Shibuya."

Uki listened quietly, nodding and tilted her head as she tried to memorize the names. After a minute of silence she bowed and smiled lightly, as much as I wanted to dislike her, I really couldn't help but love that smile, "I will try to remember that, thank you. If you need anything feel free to fetch me or my brother, though I'm sure you shouldn't run into any trouble. There are a few guests staying here during your investigation, so I request that you be… quieter."

Attempting not to chuckle at the last bit, I nodded as I dropped the tea bag into the now hot water, "Got it, I'll let them know."

She smiled and bowed again before leaving to, what I assumed the front desk. There were guests here, huh? I wonder if they would mind being asked about what they've seen. Then again, if they don't know anything, it'll probably freak them out. Maybe we should just leave them alone.

Getting a plate, some biscuits and some tea cups, I arranged them in a way that I wouldn't drop it and made my way to the room where are equipment was set up, freezing as soon as I entered. Every single time, honestly, it never fails to surprise me. Somehow they managed to put up a near wall of computers, which Lin was silently monitoring. Naru was leaning over the desk beside him, though straightened when I entered. It was a smaller room, definitely smaller than the kitchen, but it was still decent. Monk started to do his fake-crying routine, complaining about Yasu teasing him. I of course ignored him like normal, and placed the plate on the small coffee table in the center of the room, surrounded by two leather love-seats and two over-stuffed brown chairs. Yasu immediately dove for the biscuits and began happily chewing on one in one of the chairs. Just like a child. I smirked at the scene, though it was quickly wiped away when Naru made an impatient noise behind me.

Sighing a little, I poured him a cup and moved over to give it to him, repeating what Uki told me as I did so, "Uki said there are guests staying here while were working, so we need to keep it down."

Ayako began snickering, nearly spilling her cup of tea, while John let out a small sigh, "Good luck with that, with both Monk and Yasu being here."

Monk let out a whimper and nearly cried my name, to which I once again ignored as I poured my own cup, speaking casually after I took a sip, "I know, but we can at least try to be respectful. This is an open business, and a hotel to boot."

Naru spoke up from the computers, not bothering to hide his slight annoyance. I am still wondering what made him so upset, though his words made those thoughts stop dead, and nearly everyone in the room almost drop their food and drink.

"I agree with Mai. I know it's not normal for us to work in a place that is still open for business, but we should respect the owners wishes."

Naru agreed with me?! Naru?! I could hear Ayako cough as if her tea had gone into the wrong pipe, and both Monk's, Yasu's, and John's jaws were nearly touching the ground. I knew my own face probably looked the same, because when he looked up at us, more specifically me, his face turned into a scowl and his attention quickly went back to the monitors. Lin had a slightly amused face, though it disappeared as fast as it appeared. After a moment of silence Ayako cleared her throat and spoke up.

"Right, Mai and I will go unpack while you guys do whatever guys do. Come on Mai."

The older woman nearly dragged me out of the room, and as I got another glance of Naru's face, I could tell his scowl had deepened. Just what the hell was up with him today? Could it be he was jealous of John for being with me to talk to Uki? I shook my head at that thought. Impossible. He was the one who told John to come with me, why would he do that if it would just make him jealous. Nary wasn't exactly good at expressing emotions, but he would never do that. A few months back when they had reunited at her university, he hadn't exactly hidden his hostility towards Kae, which later I figured out to be nothing more than simple jealousy.

The thought had me grinning and giggling slightly. Yeah, he was definitely jealous then, so he couldn't be now. Still, him being so upset worried me. I wondered if he had seen a vision of his own that Gene had decided I shouldn't see. That thought made my grin disappear completely. Was it possible that he had really seen a vision so horrific even I couldn't see it? I had seen some pretty horrific things while I worked at SPR, so this shouldn't be any different, right?

Something didn't feel right. Something was definitely wrong. I felt a pit form in my stomach and my hair stand on end. It was just me being paranoid, right? Gene would never hide a vision from me. But, he would also protect me over anything else. That's what made me fall for him before Naru, honestly. So if not showing me a vision was protecting me, how bad was it? At the university I had seen my own death, felt my own death. What could be worse than that?

The thoughts swirled around my mind, making me begin to panic. Was it really the right thing to do to come here, or was this a huge mistake? Something in me was telling me the latter, and I couldn't help but listen to it, and believe it.


	5. Chapter 5

"Mai!"

I blinked in surprise as a loud and concerned voice snapped me out of my thoughts. I looked up to see Ayako basically nose-to-nose with me with concerned, wide eyes. I stood there, stunned for a moment. I sensed a presence behind me and with a quick glance over my shoulder I saw John and Yasu, both looking equally concerned. After a moment Ayako let out a small sigh and straightened, putting a hand up to her forward in a very overdramatic way.

"Geez! You scared me! You just suddenly stopped and zoned out for what felt like an hour!"

Yasu spoke up, his voice wavering a bit, "Actually it was 5 to 6 minutes, at least I think"

I looked back and forth between them both, very confused. It felt like no time had passed at all while I was busy in my thoughts, surely it couldn't have been that long? After all, Ayako and I were only a few feet away from the door to the base, so it had to have been only a moment, right?

Still, that didn't explain their obvious concern. Not only that, I felt like I forgot something. There was something nagging in the back of my mind just fighting to come forward but it just couldn't. What was I forgetting? I blinked in surprise again when I heard my name being called again, and noticed a very exasperated looking Ayako.

"You better stop doing that. Anyway come on, we need to unpack."

She didn't wait for me to respond this time. She grabbed my arm and pulled me forward to the room next door. My mind felt cloudy, but as we entered the room it seemed to clear again. Weird. Was it Gene trying to contact me? Probably not. He never contacts me during the day. Deciding to drop the subject, I studied the room. It was mostly empty except for two twin sized beds on either side of the room with a bed side table at the head of both. On the for wall there was a window, on the smaller side but still big enough to show a very nice view of the gardens surrounding the hotel. I let out a small gasp when I noticed that the sky was an orangy pink, it was evening already!

I shook my head a little, my sense of time was all messed up in this place. It wasn't good. I glanced over at Ayako who was sorting out her two bags and getting ready to change into pjs, so I thought I'd do the same. Unlike her bringing two very big suitcases, I only brought one medium sized suitcase and a small bag for convenience. With my back to Ayako I began changing my shirt, I didn't want to completely change, but I at least needed to change my shirt. My guess is, Naru will want me to set up some cameras in a bit. Although, Lin's surveillance seemed to be working so maybe the hotel already has cameras.

As I lifted up my shirt and threw it onto the bed, I heard a loud gasp behind me. The noise made me jump quite visibly, causing me to spin around to whoever made the noise. Ayako was standing by her bed, a frown on her face, that quickly turned into a smirk. I cocked an eyebrow as she sauntered over.

"My! You really are a woman!" I couldn't help but blush a little at her words, although even though I say a little, I was probably bright red by the way she laughed, before getting a little serious, which surprised me, "Hey, that scar looks pretty cool you know. Guys will fall in love with you the moment they see it!" Ayako didn't really laugh this time, but I knew she was trying to cheer me up a bit.

The scar on my lower back from being stabbed. I couldn't help but cringe and get depressed whenever somebody other than the SPR team mentioned it. It wasn't exactly a small scar, unless I purposely hid it almost everybody could see it. It was a bit of a star like shape, so at least it wasn't exactly ugly, but still…

I frowned, and Ayako seemed to pick up on my thoughts immediately and moved closer to give me a playful hug, "Hey don't make that sour face! I'm sure Naru gets excited looking at it, it does look amazing despite how you got it~!" I turned red again and Ayako giggled. Naru didn't know that it had scarred so badly, truth was I did hide it purposely from everyone, although it was nearly impossible to hide it from Ayako. She was right, it did look pretty amazing. A battle scar in its own right, which made me a little happy when I thought about it that way. I survived the worse thing to have ever happened to me on a case, a battle scar was appropriate.

Although, it did make me wonder how the others would react if they see it. Ayako got really upset when she first saw it, understandably, which is why she tries so hard to cheer me up about it whenever possible. After a moment of hugging and giggling Ayako returned to her bed, stretched, and plopped into it. Giggling at her slight childish nature, I finished changing and climbed into my own. If Naru needed me it would be too late now. Luckily the light had already been turned off so we didn't have to fight over who was getting up. After another couple minutes of chatting about random topics, we both fell asleep.

**_It hurts!_**

**_Help me!_**

**_My breaths came out ragged and heavy as I gasped for breath. I felt my legs give out and I landed heavily on the wooden floors. So much blood. There was blood everywhere. _**

**"_Tamaki! Kuroki!"_**

**_My voice was hoarse. My throat was dry and scratchy. Where were they? Where are my babies?! I heard a scream, my baby girls scream from a distant room. No! I pushed myself up only to stumble again. No, this couldn't be happening. Tears streamed down my face and I couldn't see my attacker properly. He was going to kill me. I heard hard and loud footsteps approach, and I couldn't run._**

**_Help… Me…_**

I jolted awake, sitting up before I even realized it. I must have screamed in my sleep because Ayako was fighting to wake up, trying to steady herself as she left her bed and made her way over to mine. I felt tears streaming down my face and I was covered in sweat, so much so the sheets were a bit wet too. I didn't have time to be disgusted as the remnants of my dreams flashed through my mind. Terror. Pain. Desperation. So many more emotions I couldn't even name. I felt tears well up again and I brought my knees to my head, and placed my hands on my face before burying my head into my knees. Ayako had her hand on my back and was trying to soothe me, but I couldn't stop shaking. The person was so terrified, and it wasn't for themselves. They were terrified for somebody else. I couldn't remember the names, but I know they were spoken.

I heard the door open and several people entered; I was assuming they were the boys. Surely I didn't scream that loud, did I? I felt Ayako move away and I wanted to protest, but I couldn't find the energy to lift my head or speak. I felt another hand on my back, and I knew immediately who it was. Naru.

I felt my body relax slightly and I was able to hear things other than my own thoughts, mainly Ayako's voice. She was saying something about my screaming waking her up and when she was awake I was sitting up in my bed as pale as a ghost. The shaking finally stopped, and my eyes finally dried slightly. I adjusted myself slightly and let myself fall into Naru, who flinched a little in what I suppose was surprise, but he didn't move away.

He put one hand on my head and began soothing down my hair, which was very knotted. Now that I was back to my senses, I got very embarrassed. I sweat so much I probably stink like an old cow! I inwardly groaned at the thought and tried to will myself to get up before I embarrassed myself further, but my body refused to move. It had gotten quiet.

I opened one eye to see that the others had left, which relieved me some. Naru hadn't moved other than adjusting himself a little so he could support my weight better. I closed my eye and forced myself to take deep breaths to calm down further, and fought against myself so I wouldn't remember my dream. Not yet. I could remember it later when it's recorded, but right now I needed to relax. Besides, I was really enjoying being in Narus arms like this, his head resting on my shoulder. My head was against his chest and I could feel and hear his deep breaths. His left arm arm was resting on my left side and left arm while the other was soothing down my hair. I couldn't help but smile widely, oh yeah, I'm going to enjoy this for a while longer.


	6. Chapter 6

**I do not own Ghost Hunt**

* * *

I must have fallen asleep again at some point after that, I had been so exhausted from the nightmare it wasn't surprising. My eyes were closed but I could still tell it was about mid-day, my world looked reddish orange. I struggled to open my eyes, feeling a slight headache come on when I fully opened them, the stinging bright sunlight hitting me almost directly. Letting out a small grown I sat up, eventually standing up. Everyone would be busy, so I decided to grab my clothes and head off to the bathroom, making sure nobody was in the hallway first. The bathroom was the next door over so it wasn't much of a trek, and it was spacious, with both a shower and bath. I imagined this was one of the few bathroom of this size in the house, but I was glad for the space.

It looked fairly normal, a marbled tile floor and peach walls, covered in darker pink and brown in the pattern of sakura trees. There was a small window but it didn't let much light in. I cringed a little as a looked in the mirror above the large sink, I looked like I hadn't only seen a ghost, but death itself, which in actuality I did, in a way.

I let out a small huff and dropped my stuff, running back to the room for a moment to grab my makeup, before returning to the bathroom and locking the door. The least I could was make myself look proper, it would make me feel a little better. I stunk of sweat so I hopped in the shower for a quick minute before getting dressed and putting a very light layer of makeup on.

I dumped all my stuff on my bed before deciding to head to home base, where I assumed everyone was. I suddenly stopped dead as I was about to open the home base door, a shiver went up my spine causing my hair to stand on end. I whipped around, expecting Uki or Fujino to be there, but the hall was empty. I let out a small sigh and decided to get the hell out of this hallway.

I opened the door and quickly stepped inside the room, shutting the door behind me just as quickly. I had heard mumbling while I was in the hall but now it was quiet. I looked up to see both shocked and concerned faces. I bit my lip a little, even Lin was looking from around the computer monitors to stare at me. How awkward.

Naru shook his head a little, only slightly, and moved towards me, grabbing my arm. He looked mostly emotionless, as usual, but his eyes looked like they were on the brink of… tears? Seriously? I probably looked like a fish out of water, but he ignored it and forcibly pushed me down onto the couch, right where Ayako had been sitting a minute ago. Ayako immediately let out an exasperated sigh.

"Naru! Seriously!" Ayako sounded royally pissed, which was actually rarer than you might think. She leaned down and pressed her hand against my forhead, all indications that she was angry were gone. "Are you feeling alright Mai? Should you be up walking around?"

I smiled softly and gently pushed her hand away. I was thankful Monk wasn't here, he would have been freaking out. "I'm fine! Promise."

I glanced up at Naru who made a slight grunt of doubt, which made me a little more than annoyed. Ayako rolled her eyes a little at the noise, "if you say so."

Naru spoke up then, sounding a bit annoyed. Why exactly was he annoyed? Seriously, I could never understand him, "We should probably write down what your dream was about"

Right, the dream. I frowned, I felt that headache again. What exactly was in that dream? Naru had gotten his notepad and was looking at me expectantly. "It's… a little fuzzy, I can't really remember much. I remember the smell of blood and the sense of fear… I couldn't move and I was calling out to somebody. That's it." I was a little wary of looking at Naru, and as expected he looked a little disappointed. I could imagine him thinking, _"That kind of reaction over that little?!" _

Ayako remained silent for a moment before standing, "I'm going to go get some tea"

I watched Ayako leave quietly before lowering my head. I know I was calling out to somebody, but who? I just couldn't remember, why couldn't I remember?! I felt a shiver go down my spine again. I needed to get out of here, it was like I was in that dream again. Why do I feel so scared all of a sudden? The feeling of wanting to run away was overwhelming.

Finally I jumped up, causing Naru to also jump slightly. Without looking up at him I said quickly, "I'm going out for a walk!" before practically running out of the room. I saw Uki in the corner of my eye but I ignored her, quickly going down the long hall ways to the front door of the hotel. I opened the door and stepped out, and the dread and panic I had been feeling was suddenly just… gone. Just like that. I let out an exhausted sigh and, walking much slower, I made my way to a bench near the corner of the garden.

I plopped myself down on it very heavily, making an audible thud. I leaned my head back and placed one hand on my forehead. Maybe I was feeling a bit feverish, that could be why I was panicking, right? Letting out another sigh I shook my head and leaned forward slightly to look at this fish in one of the ponds. So carefree, damn fish.

A fever definitely didn't explain what I had been feeling, either way. I felt like I was being watched, chased even. It was definitely ghosts, but why did it disturb me so much? I had been on cases with children ghosts before, sure I was more than a little scared those times, but this was different. Maybe it was because I hadn't really dealt with the supernatural for a while. Yeah, that had to be it. Just needed to get into the grove of things.

I frowned a little and glanced up towards the front of the hotel. Nobody had come after me, they probably all knew I needed my space. Still, it felt so lonely and caused a slight ache in my heart. An ache? Really? First you get freaked out beyond control and now you're acting all emotional. I hope to God this case is over soon, I am seriously going to go insane.


	7. Chapter 7

**I do not own ghost hunt**

* * *

I remained on that bench for a few hours, listening to the gentle splash of water, the song of the birds, the wind rustling through the trees. It was so peaceful here, almost like a dream. A bird had landed beside me not too long after I had gone still, leaning against the back of the bench. A little chickadee, it stared at me with curiosity while bouncing from one end of the bench to the other. I couldn't help but let out a small giggle while watching the curious little thing, it tweeted at me before stretching its wings and flying off into the trees on the opposite side of the garden.

I let out a small sigh and sunk deeper into the bench, closing my eyes. So peaceful. A soft and beautiful song broke the near silence. I opened my eyes and sat up a bit to look around. A feminine voice was singing, I couldn't really understand the words but it was so beautiful. It was like a quiet wolfs howl, it made me feel a bit sleepy. I could remember when my mom used to sing to me when I was little. It was so similar…

Suddenly something caught my eye and I bolted upright again. I squinted my eyes to see properly, whatever it was, it looked like pure light, but it wasn't giving off any light itself. I rubbed my eyes quickly and looked again, I could see the shape of a woman wearing a kimono. Her hair was tied up high and the kimono looked like it was decorated with millions of flowers, she looked like royalty. My mouth was open of course, and it opened wider when the figure seemed to turn to me.

The woman had a wide grin on her face, her eyes crinkling. Such a genuine smile, it filled me with joy. Her song had stopped but it was like she was still singing, filling the air with joy and hope. It felt like was heart was fluttering and I was floating on air. The woman began walking towards me, and I suddenly got an ominous feeling.

I snapped out of my trance-like state and looked towards the hotel, the woman also turned her gaze. An ominous shadow stood at the entrance. I looked back towards the woman, her face was full of fear. A shrill screech pierced the air and I had to cover my ears, I felt like they would start bleeding if I didn't. The shadow moved and convulsed but didn't leave the hotel. The woman looked like she was crying, she dropped down onto her knees and I could hear loud sobbing. Blood began pooling underneath her, leaking into the ponds and into the cracks of the stone path. The scent of blood was overwhelming and I threw myself forward to get sick. My stomach hurt, it hurt so much. I glanced up again to see the shadow was moving towards me. It went past the woman and completely engulfed her. The sky turned blood red and I opened my mouth to scream, but nothing came out, and I was engulfed by blackness.

* * *

My eyes flew open and I let out a loud gasp, as if I hadn't been able to breath. I jolted into a sitting position, clutching my chest. God, my chest and stomach hurt badly. It felt like I couldn't breath. I got a wave of nausea and had to lean over the side of the bench.

I let out a quiet moan as I sat back up, wiping my mouth on my sleeve. Gross, it was so gross. While I disgusting myself I finally noticed where I was. Back on the same bench, only I had been lying on my side along the length of it. I must have fallen asleep. It was a dream, yeah, just a dream. I needed to get cleaned up, ugh, I felt so gross.

I attempted to get up, emphasis on _attempted._ My legs were wobbly and definitely rebelling against me, causing me to flop back down on the bench. Great. Another wave of nausea, though this time I was able to control it. Man, where were those guys when you needed to be pestered.

I took a deep breath and gripped on of the handles on the side of the bench, preparing myself to get up. Another deep breath. I jumped to my feet while keeping my grip. Nope, down I went. Again. Dammit! I let out a huff of frustration and nearly missed seeing Naru. He was watching me from just a few feet away from the entrance. When I saw him I expected either a very irritated look or very amused, he would be amused by this. Instead I saw a nearly shocked face, it seemed to take him a few minutes to decide to come over to me.

I let out a small groan and felt my face heat up, he totally saw all of that, didn't he? How embarrassing! I would never live this down! He –

Naru kneeled down in front of me and looked up at me, straight in the eyes. Woah, was this really the Naru we all knew and loved? His face had recovered and was neutral except for the extreme concern – or what I thought was concern – in his eyes. He definitely saw all of that.

It took him a moment of inspecting my face before speaking, "are you alright?"

I couldn't help but blink and let my eyes widen in slight surprise. It sounds really wrong that I was surprised by that, but I was. He seemed to get a bit irritated at my null response and got up suddenly. I opened my mouth to say 'really! I'm alright!', but I didn't get the chance. Before I could make even a noise he picked me up bridal style and began moving towards the entrance to the hotel. Ayako looked like she had been on the way to find us, but she quickly froze and looked shock when she saw Naru carrying me. I gave her a little shrug and small smile which Naru seemed to ignore as well. Ayako continued to remain frozen as we walked past and down the hallway towards where our rooms were.

I zoned out a bit while looking up at Naru's face, could this be considered affection? I guess it would be pretty damn weird affection if it were, but hey, were talking about Naru here.

I felt him begin to put me down, and I found myself sitting on the edge of the bathtub in the bathroom. He put a hand to my forehead and made a grimace before getting up and moving to the doorway, leaving me looking once again, pretty shocked. Ayako hadn't been for behind and was now standing to the side of the doorway, letting Naru pass before coming towards me. Naru had whispered a few words that sounded like 'watch her' before disappearing down the hallway. Ayako had a concerned look as always and kneeled in front of me before putting a hand to my forehead. She made the same kind of look Naru had and got back up turning towards the sink. She wet a cloth and put the almost freezing piece of fabric against my head. I guess I had a fever, it would make sense. I was starting to feel pretty hot.


	8. Chapter 8

**I do not own Ghost Hunt**

* * *

Naru soon returned with some medication and a thermometer. The thermometer showed I had a temperature of 102 degrees, a definite fever. I started feeling hotter and hotter, even beginning to breath a bit heavier unconsciously. Naru quickly gave me a pill and a paper cup, which I had assumed he got from the kitchen, full of water. I downed the pill and water before Ayano shooed him out of the bathroom. She helped me get undressed, as I was starting to feel dizzy and a headache began to form. Ayano ran the bath a bit on the cool side, but I felt so hot I really didn't mind. While I was bathing she ran and got my pjs and some fresh underwear. When she got back she helped me out of the tub and into the pjs, quickly leading me to our room.

I didn't see Naru anywhere but I imagine he didn't want to be very badly scolded by Ayano for being in the way. It made me giggle a little bit, the thought of him being scared of Ayano, but the giggle quickly turned into violent coughing, causing me to drop to my knees and hold my stomach. It was still absolutely killing me from earlier, I felt sick again.

Ayano quickly grabbed me and dragged me into our room, putting me in my bed and tucks the covers over me. She had gotten another cold wet cloth at some point and put it on my forehead, the coolness helped a lot. My dead was pounding, and I couldn't but hold my eyes shut. Ayano was saying something but I couldn't hear it, I had already passed out.

* * *

The next time I woke up it was almost pitch black. I had an aching headache and I was pretty much in a pool of sweat, but at least I didn't feel hot anymore, and my stomach didn't hurt. As much. It still had a dull ache, but it was tolerable and the nausea was gone, thank god the nausea was gone. I suddenly heard somebody breathing, causing me to jump nearly out of my skin. It took me a minute to realize it was just Ayano, sleeping peacefully.

Right, it was probably in the early hours of the morning, it was pitch black after all. I groaned and rubbed my head, the headache was getting a bit worse. I decided to try to search around in the dark for those pills I had gotten earlier, they would help, right? I managed to find them, and with some effort, struggle to open the bottle. I was about to take a pill when I froze.

A loud thump sounded out in the hallway, it sounded like somebody had dropped something heavy. Ayano twitched a bit but didn't wake up, surely she should have more of a reaction than that? It was so loud it sounded like it was just outside of our room, possibly even inside the room itself! But nope, no reaction other than a moan and slight adjustment. Great.

Of course it was stupid to go out there, especially after what I'd been through already. Completely stupid, one would think. However, before I knew it, I was standing and going towards the door of the room. What the hell? It felt like I wasn't in control of my own body, like I was simply a puppet on strings. I felt myself open the door, and walk out. I walked out into the hallway, and froze. Giggling, children giggling.

I felt a shiver go up my spine, as the giggling suddenly stops. I feel myself turn around as lights begin lighting up the hallway in blood red. This was a dream, it was a dream. Calm down, relax. I began walking towards the light, my legs shaking. Where did those kids go? Just as I finished that thought, I heard more giggling. I followed it, as creepy as it was, I knew they were trying to lead me somewhere.

Further away now, I continued following them. I recognized the hallways for the most part, but after a little while I stopped recognizing it. The lights grew weak, leaving me in near darkness. For some reason… this didn't feel like a dream. This felt so real… But then what was up with the red lights? Surely that wasn't real, but still, I had my doubts.

I continued to follow, and soon the creepy giggling began to fade. I quickened my pace, hurrying into the darkness. Suddenly I heard shuffling, and the sound of something being dragged, and I froze. Something heavy, like a body…?

That's when I noticed a metallic smell, like blood. So much blood, it was suffocating. I covered my mouth and nose with a hand, and continued to watch. There was a faint red glow, so I could see the silhouette of a large man, dragging what definitely looked like a body. A decrepit trap door hung down loosely, and a ladder came down from it at an angle.

The man paused for a moment before swinging the body up into, what I assumed was, the attic. It seemed so small at a distance, like a child. I felt compelled to move forward, but I couldn't. I could only just stand and watch as the man swung another, equally as small, body bag up into the attic. I felt sick, the smell of blood was so overpowering. Suddenly, the man turned to me, and let out a loud growl like noise.

I gasped, my breath catching in my throat. I wanted to turn and run, get back to the safety of my room, but I couldn't All I could was stand there. The man came closer and closer, my eyes widened as I saw what he held in his hand, a very bloody axe. The closer he got the more the blood smell made me nauseous.

_Run, for fucks sakes!_

I couldn't. I felt something holding onto my legs, holding me in place. I looked down to see two children, they looked almost identical, but I didn't feel any malice from them. I felt terror, unbridled terror. They're eyes were wide and they're cheeks were wet from tears. They kept calling 'mommy, mommy!'.

I wanted to tell them it was ok, but it wasn't. I sensed the man was almost right in front of me, and I looked to see he was. I opened my mouth to screech, but I couldn't. He lifted the axe in the air as my eyes widened and the tears started to fall. I felt like I knew him from somewhere, I knew I did, but where? I couldn't see his face, but I knew it held an angry and painful face. The axe came swinging down, I felt the children flee as I covered my eyes, causing me to fall onto my knees, my legs spread out slightly as I lost control of them.

My eyes were covered so I hadn't noticed when the darkness had vanished and had been replaced by a calming white light, and I hadn't heard my name being called as I began sobbing.


	9. Chapter 9

_**Shit is about to go down. Continue if you dare.**_

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt**

* * *

I suddenly felt two strong hands grab me and shake me quickly and slightly violently. The suddness of it shocked me out of my somewhat blind state. I looked up to see who it was, expecting to see monk, since he was definitely a bit stronger than most, but when I saw it was Naru I immediately broke down again. I wasn't sure why, but I felt like I had this deep dread and sadness. Like I had just lost everyone I cared about in the world, and the memory of when my parents died came flooding back in front of my eyes. I couldn't help but collapse into Naru's arms, sobbing like a baby. I felt him stiffen almost instantly and freeze, if I was in my right mind I might have been a little offended at that, but I seriously didn't care right now. My mind was in too much chaos right now, I could hardly concentrate. Was this feeling of such loneliness and sadness caused by the children earlier? This fear, this dread, the fact that I was having flashbacks when I heard the news of my parents, it was because of those children.

I started calming down after a minute, Naru remained stiff but I could feel one hand on my back and the other brushing through my hair. It was comforting, nostalgic, how my mother held me when I was very little after a nightmare.

I could hear some voices in the background, including Uki. She was talking in a high-pitched and very concerned voice, while John and Monk tried to calm her down, reassuring her that this kind of thing was normal. Well, I guess as normal as it can get with me. Osamu sounded like he was fuming and on a rant, for some reason, while I could sense Ayako just about a foot away, ignoring the others and watching me. I heard her murmur something to Naru, who murmured something back, but not being fully calm I couldn't catch it. Suddenly I felt someone tug the bottom of my shirt.

I glanced down, and adjusted slightly so my arm wasn't in the way of my vision. I let out a sharp gasp, the two children from earlier were kneeling right beside me. I heard everyone else go quiet; my gasp must have been quite audible. Nobody else seemed to see them, but I could see them quite clearly. They looked like they had both just finished crying, and the little girl was pointing up at the attic door. My head snapped up and I stared at the attic door before also pointing, and declaring.

"We have to get that open!"

Everyone remained still for a long moment, I didn't have to look to know that they had very confused expressions, but I continued pointing and keeping my air of confidence, the earlier wreck I had been was completely erased. Uki cleared her throat and I could imagine her giving a slight nod.

"Right, I'll go get Fujino. That door has been sealed for several years, so we might need some tools."

I dropped my hand and glanced down, the children were gone. I quickly looked back at her and nodded, "Great, thank you. The faster the better."

Uki did a quick bowed and hurried past the rest of the team, down the hall. I looked back at the attic door, I could still feel the presence of the children, as if they were still sitting there. I didn't think they planned to leave until we got it open. I heard Naru clear his throat after another couple moments of silence.

"Mai, what did you see?"

I glanced back at him and smiled slightly, he sounded more serious than he normally did, believe it or not. I nodded again and stood up, brushing off my pants. I was a bit shaky, and when I wobbled on my legs Naru shot up and grabbed me. I stared at him in shock for a long moment before clearing my throat.

"Right… Well it was different from a dream, as you can tell. I heard some children laughing and it woke me up, so I followed them here. When I got here, I saw someone, I'm assuming a male since he was huge, and he was tossing up what looked like body bags into the attic."

Naru took a very long time to process this, while Monk quickly spoke up, seemingly appearing beside me, causing me to jump a bit, "This is the first time this has happened, right?"

I nodded, "Yeah. I've never walked in my sleep before, and I've never had visions outside of dreams."

Ayako was the next to speak up, "Perhaps you have a connection with one of the spirits that's stronger than it has been previously. You say it was children, yes? Is it possible that you had a younger sibling that went missing or something?"

I shook my head, frowning, "No, I've only ever been an only child. I can't think of any reason why I would have a connection to this place, I don't know anything about the family that runs this place or anything, really."

John was quick to speak up then, "Then perhaps it would be good to get that door open as soon as possible."

Naru nodded, his brows furrowing, "We also need to ask why it was sealed in the first place."

That seemed to make the others prick up a bit, especially Monk. It was a good point, why was it sealed? The time to ask was now, as Uki and Fujino were now coming back down the hall, Fujino holding a crowbar looking tool.

When they got near, Naru quickly spoke up, "May I ask why the attic was sealed in the first place?"

Uki perked up before Fujino even had time to find an answer, "Oh! That's because animals kept getting into the attic no matter how much we tried to keep them out, they kept dying up there and stinking up the place. We called several people, but nobody had a solution, so we decided to seal the only way the smells could leak into the hotel."

Naru and the others, even including myself, had doubts about this. It seemed like a pretty odd excuse, but still, I guessed it was plausible. Fujino nodded and asked every to step back a bit, so we did. He used the crowbar to unseal the door, the door swung open and hung loosely, while the ladder to enter the attic dropped.

The worst smell I have ever smelled leaks out into the hallway, I'm pretty sure even Naru gagged at least once. It was so horrible, it was like a skunk had sprayed the second the attic opened, only it was worse, much worse. The smell of decaying blood and rotting flesh was undeniable.

The smell of not only one, but several rotting corpses came from that attic, and everyone knew it almost instantly.


	10. Chapter 10

_**I do not own Ghost Hunt**_

* * *

The next hour was pretty much chaos. After the smell was unleashed, everyone evacuated the front garden, while both Uki and Osamu frantically called the police. Naru recovered the fastest, regaining his composure and approaching Fujino. Fujino looked a little baffled, and Naru seemed pissed. I was confused as to why he was so pissed, but then again, I was feeling a little bit peeved myself.

How could they have dismissed those smells so easily? I've smelt road kill before, and the smell of a dead animal is much different. Not to mention, but it was so strong, it smelled like those bodies had been up there for at least ten years, if not more. Did the police never investigate? Something was wrong, and I think Naru had the same idea. This was all wrong, so very wrong.

I felt John approach me, his hand on my arm and a concerned look on his face, "Mai! Are you alright?!"

I nodded but couldn't quite speak yet, I probably didn't have enough in my stomach to warrant a vomit, but I definitely felt one coming on. Monk recovered next, both he and Ayako had been coughing up a storm, they were finally calming down.

"Fuck!" I had heard Monk curse before, but this was different. Trust me; this warranted a couple of curses. Ayako began to scold him but decided it wasn't worth the effort and I think I heard her swear under her breath. John remained by my side as I sat on my knees in the grass, this was really too much. My brain was struggling to process it.

I heard a small, quiet voice, which caused my head to snap up. I saw a glance of one of the children, but it was gone too quickly. For some reason my brain wanted to tell me it was a quiet 'sorry', but I wasn't sure. I wasn't ready to assume anything. Naru seemed to be chewing the hell out of Fujino, and Osamu seemed to try to calm down Uki while trying to get her talk about what was going on at the same time.

Soon after we had mostly recovered, the police arrived, with sirens blaring. An ambulance and fire truck also showed up. That's when I realized that nobody else had come out of the hotel. Didn't Uki say there would be other guests? Surely they would have smelled it and fled as well, but no one was coming out.

It sent a shiver up my spine. The two must have lied about guests being there, so what else were they lying about? I didn't have time to think about it much, I was the only one still on the ground, so the nurses from the ambulance approached me first. They had an oxygen mask, I said I didn't need it, but John, who was still right beside me, insisted, so I let them put the mask over my face.

I did start to feel a bit less nauseas after a minute, so they gave it to John, and proceeded with the others. The police approached Uki first; they probably knew she was one of the owners. She was still panicking too much to talk to them, so Naru approached them. In his extremely monotone air, as usual, he informed them that there was several dead bodies within the hotel.

The police seemed shell-shocked, and one of them called for some backup to get the bodies out of there. The bigger guy introduced himself as Yukiyama Taisho, and asked who first noticed them. I jumped up, John had to steady me as I was a bit shaky. Yukiyama noticed my sudden movement and nodded to me. Once I was steady, I walked over to them, John trailing behind me.

"I did, Mr Yukiyama. My name is Taniyama Mai." He reached out and I shook his hand, I hadn't heard Naru introduce himself, but I assumed he did.

"Right, Miss Taniyama, how did you notice the bodies?" His gruff voice made me a bit nervous, but I forced myself to calm down, this wasn't the first time we dealt with police.

Naru frowned a bit at this. I found them because of a spirit, but I couldn't exactly say that, "I, uh, smelled something strange coming from the attic. It had been sealed so the smell really bothered me, and I recommended that we check it out."

Yukiyama nodded as his partner, somewhat younger and smaller, wrote notes on a notepad. Yukiyama waited until his partner was done before speaking again, "The attic was sealed?"

Fujino piped up, "We had sealed it because of smells. We had inspectors come in that said they weren't sure how, but animals kept getting in there and dying."

Yukiyama brought a hand to his chin and scratched the stubble there, "I see. You never found the source of the animals?"

Fujino shook his head, "No, which is why it was sealed."

"How long has it been sealed?"

Uki, with a shaky and squeaky voice answered this, "6 years, almost 7."

Yukiyama nodded and glanced back. What looked like a body clean-up type squad had showed up, along with a few more officers. He motioned to one of them, "Give this missy a mask," He turned to me, "Do you mind showing us where they are?"

I shook my head, "Of course not." An officer gave me a plastic mask to put over my nose and mouth. I could still breathe through it just fine, I really hoped it kept the smell out. With that, I was motioned to lead the way, so I did. I lead the squad and officers down the hallway. A couple of the officers looked a bit green as we got closer, though the squad in white suit looking outfits didn't seem to mind at all. The mask kept the worst of it out, which I was grateful for. Soon we got to the attic, and I told them I didn't know the exact place they were in the attic. I was told that was fine and that I should head back outside, so I did.

A breathe of fresh air was much appreciated, and John seemed to be waiting for me. He looked very concerned, and seemed greatly relieved when I shot him a smile. Naru was nowhere to be seen, and Fujino was comforting his sister, who was back on the ground.


End file.
